Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Cookies, bars, candy what’s your Christmas favourite? I like them all, so this week I decided, since Christmas is right around the corner and today is a special day, you guessed! It’s my birthday!

I am going to share some of the most delicious Christmas cookie recipes ever made. A couple of recipes are from my Mom, a couple from friends and one I decided to make as a tribute to my amazing family.

Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, are based on that icon of a Christmas Bar, better known as Magic Cookie Bars or Hello Dollies.

The ingredients I used are the favourites of my two daughters, my husband’s and mine. Nutella I used to replace the sweetened condensed milk which is of course for the Nutella queen, peanut butter chips are my favourite, dark chocolate chips for my eldest daughter and hazelnuts are my husbands.

So if I do say so myself these Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are a keeper.

Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Nutella Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Our first Christmas in Italy I wanted to share some of the wonderful traditions that I grew up with, one of which of course was holiday baking. The first cookie I chose to make was the ever popular Hello Dolly.

My Mom could make this cookie in under 10 minutes. So naturally I assumed I could have it done in 15, maximum 20. No such luck, little did I know that in Italy there were no graham cracker crumbs (there still are none.

I make my own with a delicious Italian breakfast cookie), chocolate chips, nope non of those either! Nuts sure but I had to crush them myself, just like I did with the chocolate. Oh and don’t forget the sweetened condensed milk,

I made that myself too. Well, at least I found coconut flakes. So there I was putting pieces of chocolate in a double plastic bag and smashing it with a hammer, ditto the nuts and the cookies I smashed with a rolling-pin.

Of course now I can find the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk but I am still waiting for the arrival of crumbs.

Hello Dollies

Hello Dollies

Hello Dollies

Hello Dollies

Hello Dollies

When it was time to serve these cookies I’m telling you there wasn’t one crumb left on the plate. To this day that is the fastest eaten cookie I make.

The other day I received a request from a friend of mine here in Italy asking me to post the Hello dolly recipe on my blog, so here my dear friend is the cookie of choice with I hope a new favourite.

If you ever want to make your own sweetened condensed milk, add 1 part sugar to 2 parts milk, boil together until mixture thickens, stirring often.

Course:
Dessert

Cuisine:
American

Servings: 20servings

Calories: 262kcal

Author: Rosemary

Ingredients

NUTELLA CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

1 1/4cupsgraham cracker crumbs135 grams, or crushed macine biscotti

3tablespoonsbutter melted42 1/2 grams

1/2cupNutella140 grams

1/3cupsemi sweet chocolate mini chips58 grams

1/3cuppeanut butter mini chips58 grams

1/2cupchopped hazelnuts70 grams

HELLO DOLLIES

2 1/4cupsgraham cracker crumbs243 grams, or crushed macine biscotti

1/3cupbutter melted83 grams

1can sweetened condensed milk

3/4cupmini semi-sweet chocolate chips131 grams

3/4cupschopped hazelnuts or walnuts105 grams

1/2cupcoconut flakes37 grams

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius)

NUTELLA CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

In a small (6x8 inch / 16 x 20 centimeter) baking dish, add graham cracker crumbs/ cookie crumbs and melted butter, mix well together and press down in the pan. Spread with Nutella (I placed the Nutella in a bowl over a pot of boiling water to thin it out for easier spreading), top with chocolate chips (I mixed them together then sprinkled) and ending with chopped hazelnuts. Press down firmly. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting and serving. Enjoy

HELLO DOLLIES

In a medium (8 x 11 inch / 20 x 28 centimeter) baking dish, add graham cracker crumbs/cookie crumbs and melted butter, mix well together and press down in pan. Spread with sweetened condensed milk, sprinkle with chocolate chips, then nuts then coconut, (if you like you can do first coconut then nuts) press down firmly. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting and serving. Enjoy!